Executive recruiter Frances Mazur on the hiring trends set to impact beauty in 2024

“In Q4 of 2022, we did not receive a single new executive search, and that was a precursor to a slower year [for hiring across the beauty industry] overall,” Mazur told Glossy. “In 2023, however, we had a very busy Q4 — it was the busiest quarter of the year for us. The hope is that this is an indication of confidence in investing in leadership that can take brands to the next level.” 

This trend, as one may expect, would trickle down to every corner of the beauty industry. “There is every indication that companies are bringing on incremental headcount at the director level and above,” Mazur said. “We have been turning business away — it’s been bonkers.” 

For the year ahead, Mazur also expects to see shifts across brands’ approaches to marketing, operations and compensation. Brand marketing, for example, will expand with new roles across the industry, whereas growth marketing will be reduced at top brands, which could mean fewer hires or possible headcount reductions. Meanwhile, she expects 100% remote opportunities to become more rare, while salaries will stay steady or even contract, she said, all thanks to an increase in competition. 

Below, Mazur discusses these hiring trend predictions.

How would you describe the hiring landscape for 2024?

“The way we’re advising our candidates is that, due to layoffs and bankruptcies and other issues [in 2023], there are more unemployed beauty executives than we’ve seen in the last year — maybe even in the last 18 months. There’s more active competition for director to executive roles. This also indicates that compensation may be on the decline because [a brand doesn’t have] to pay a premium to have access to this talent. It’s a crowded market and a good indication of what will happen in 2024. Candidates need to be aware that there’s a lot of competition [right now].” 

How could salaries be impacted by these changes in 2024?

“Over the last several years, we’ve seen big companies overpay for talent. I know for a fact that [many companies] would approach talent from competitors and say, ‘We’ll pay you 30% more to come here!’ That was their strategy, and it had a ripple effect across the entire industry where salaries were being inflated in a way that was not sustainable. 

Now, in my opinion, they could not afford to pay talent the way that they did, and now, for the last 6-8 months, we are seeing a right-sizing of compensation. As we look at [executive] searches going into 2024, the salaries are more conservative. So for people who are not employed today, they need to think about their willingness to consider taking on less compensation than they made in their last role.”

What other compensation trends have you noticed?

“We’re seeing a little bit of a decline in bonus structure, where, at a director level in years past, 20-30% [of their annual salary] was pretty standard. Now we’re seeing 20% is kind of where it’s coming in — not really above that. At a vp level, you could see 50% bonuses in the past, but now it’s more like 30%.”

Since the pandemic, we’ve seen many shifts in the culture and expectations around remote work. What can we expect in 2024?

“We have seen the pendulum swing and, by and large, we are seeing companies that are wanting people in the office for a minimum of two days a week, but even as much as 4-5 days a week. So that is significantly different [from the past few years].”

And what about 100% remote jobs? Will these opportunities grow or contract in 2024?

“We talk to [remote job seekers] all the time, and there are just significantly fewer [remote] opportunities. The people that have moved to remote places are feeling the pinch, [so many are] willing to take less compensation. When we present [100% remote] candidates to companies, we sometimes present it like, ‘Look, if you want this person in the office three days a week, this is the base compensation that they’re looking for. If you’re willing to let them work from home, then the compensation ask is less’. Sometimes it can be 20-25% less, so there is a benefit to the employer to consider [remote workers].”

What about the many brands that moved out of New York, Los Angeles and other big cities during the pandemic? How are they doing with talent?

“It’s so interesting. During the pandemic, you could start a company in Dallas, Texas and have access to amazing talent because everybody was working from home. We’ve got a client in this very same situation right now: They launched two years ago and built an amazing team, most of which was remote. But now they want people in the office as they scale the company to the next level. There isn’t a great number of beauty experts in Dallas, so they have to ‘import their talent’ or consider a travel cadence.

Companies were able to [open in smaller markets during] the pandemic, but now there’s a bit of a backlash because they’re not able to scale to the next level without access to beauty talent. Some are willing to pay for [employee] relocation. Others aren’t. If they’re not able to pay for total relocation — or a travel cadence, like a week in Dallas per month — they’re definitely feeling the pinch of not having access to a broad range of strong talent.”

For the talent that does want to leave the bigger cities, where is alluring to them now?

“It’s hard to get people to move. We’re seeing less willingness to relocate than we did before the pandemic. But interestingly, we’ve seen a willingness of people to move to all over Florida. There is a pocket of beauty there, perhaps for tax and weather reasons. We are not seeing that same willingness to move to Texas. In terms of the L.A. and New York migrations, we’re seeing people moving back to New York.”

It sounds like more value is being placed on in-person work for 2024?

“Yes, especially in this next evolution of building businesses after the pandemic. People are really starved for being face-to-face and, because there’s an increase in access to talent, there can be a bigger demand to spend time [in the office].”

What kind of roles or departments will be most in demand for 2024?

“We’ve seen a big increase in the last six to nine months in the investment in brand marketing [talent] at all levels: brand management, executive brand leadership opportunities, chief brand officer, VP of brand marketing. If you are a brand marketer, your time is coming.”

And what kind of roles or departments are shrinking?

“There’s been a huge investment in growth marketing [over the past years] — but that trend is starting to fall away, and [it’s being replaced by] a reinvestment in brand marketing. We saw many brands grow through digital acquisition and a digital media spend on a very targeted customer, but they didn’t have broader brand awareness, so now they’re suffering because their dollar isn’t as efficient. [Many brands are] now rethinking their marketing mix and reinvesting in brand marketing.”

Are companies filling this new influx of brand marketers from within or outside of the beauty industry?

“Our clients usually want people from the beauty industry. But having said that, there is a lack of creativity [right now]. If you’re taking a person from your direct competitor to lead your brand, you’re just getting the same ideas applied in a different way. I love working with clients that want, or at least are willing to consider, candidates from adjacent industries — like fashion, lifestyle, wellness and technology, as well as talent coming from the agency side.”

Are there any specific roles that are oversaturated right now?

“There was one trend that we saw again and again in 2022 [that is still impacting hiring]. Companies would lay off a vp, and then six weeks later, they would post basically the same job, but at a director level. The vp laid the groundwork, then they were laid off and the company brought in a less expensive person to execute the strategy. Because of this, there was a bit of a flood of vp talent on the market in 2023, and that plays into the idea that compensation is on the decline. There was a high level of director-level talent in 2023, but we’re seeing more of a leadership investment in 2024.”